The invention generally pertains to water filters and, more particularly, to a filter for a toilet fill valve.
Previously, as people became aware to what extent typical urban tap water was polluted, there arose the desire and/or need to provide a solution to the problems causes by the polluted water.
The most obvious concern was that many individuals or families who could not afford to buy, or simply did not want to buy xe2x80x9cbottled waterxe2x80x9d, such as Sparklettes or Arrowhead, were having to use the polluted water for drinking, cooking and bathing. Once the public concern had reached a significant level, many critics decided to study what pollutants were present in the water, and what effects resulted from the pollutants. In the water processing industry it was common knowledge that chemicals, such as chlorine, were added to the water in order to purify and cleanse the water of other potentially dangerous chemicals. The water was also filtered to remove particles that could, after time, clog the system. A balance was reached as to what chemicals were necessary to keep the water suitable for flowing, and to provide for health consumption and use by people.
Although this balance attempted to provide a realistic solution to both problems, many cities continued to receive complaints about the water. In order to remedy the complaints, the cities opted to provide better xe2x80x9ctastingxe2x80x9d water by adding more chemicals.
The result is, as many people have discovered, that water is able to clog through various places which it flow. The most typical places for clogs is where water is constantly used and replaced, such as sinks, bathtubs/showers and toilets. For most sinks and many bathtubs/showers there are filtering devices available that provide additional filtration and removal of many chemicals and particles, such as small rocks.
Unfortunately, there is no filtration device available for a toilet. Most modern toilets utilize a system of pipes and floats to remove used water and re-fill the toilet. As a result of non-filtered water entering the fill valve, a toilet can clog and subsequently overflow or stop working. Obviously, if there were some way to filter the water that enters a toilet, it would save people significant amounts of money in repairs/replacements and help stop overflows, which are not only messy but can be dangerous to people""s health.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention however, the following U.S. patents were considered related:
The Wilson patent discloses a diaphragm type of flush valve for use with toilet devices such as urinals and water closets. The invention includes a body with an inlet and an outlet with a valve set therebetween and a valve member movable to a closing position on the valve seat. The vale member includes a diaphragm which is peripherally attached to the body. A pressure chamber above the diaphragm holds the valve member on its valve seat and there is a filter and a bypass orifice connecting the inlet, and the pressure chamber. The filter includes a filter ring positioned beneath the diaphragm and adjacent the outer periphery thereof. A peripheral chamber is bounded by a seal ring, the filter ring and the body, with water reaching the peripheral chamber by passing through filter ring grooves.
The Whiteside patent discloses a diaphragm-type of flush valve for use with toilet devices such as urinals and water closets. The invention has a body with an inlet and an outlet and a valve seat therebetween. There is a valve member movable to a closing position on the valve seat to stop flow between the inlet and the outlet. The valve member includes a diaphragm peripherally attached to the body. A filter and bypass orifice connect the inlet and pressure chamber, with a bypass orifice being formed in a retaining disc and the filter being formed in part by a portion of the diaphragm.
In its most basic design, the toilet water line filter operates in combination with a toilet fill valve, which includes a threaded inlet that protrudes through a bore on the base of a toilet tank, and a flexible water line having an inlet connected to a water source and a threaded outlet.
The water-line filter is comprised of a housing having an inlet, an outlet and a bore therethrough, which is comprised of two diameters. The first diameter extends from the edge of the inlet to an outward-projecting ledge, from where the second diameter commences. The second diameter then extends to the edge of the outlet. In order to facilitate attachment, the inlet is externally threaded and the outlet is internally threaded.
A filter is comprised of a mesh straining element having an edge that is attached to a resilient washer. The filter is dimensioned to have the washer seat against the ledge. In order to attached the water-line filter to the toilet fill valve, the outlet of the housing is threaded into the threaded inlet of the toilet fill valve, and the threaded outlet of the flexible water line is threaded into the threaded inlet of the housing.
In view of the above disclosure, the primary object of the invention is to provide a toilet water-line filter that will limit the flow of debris into a toilet fill valve, thus protecting the fill valve from clogging and extend the duration of the fill valve""s use.
Additionally, the toilet water-line filter can:
1) be manufactured from a variety of materials, such as metal or plastic,
2) protect other elements of a toilet that can be affected by un-filtered water,
3) be manufactured as an integral part of the flexible water line that is used with a toilet,
4) be discarded after an elapsed time, or can be re-used with a new filtering element and,
5) be cost effective from both a consumer""s and manufacturer""s point of view.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.